TV HUNTER: Why Netflix's 'Queer Eye' deserves your love, tears

For the last month, I have repeatedly missed my chance to fall in love with Netflix’s “Queer Eye” reboot.

Despite a seemingly endless chorus of people telling me how they instantly fell for the diverse new Fab 5 -- Antoni, Jonathan, Tan, Bobby and Karamo -- I still put it on the back burner with a personal promise to cue it up tomorrow. When I finally sat down to watch the criminally short eight-episode series this week, I immediately regretted that month wait.

I never watched the original “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” which ran from 2003-2007. It was a critically acclaimed but culturally controversial reality show about gay men specializing in culture, food, fashion, design and grooming makeovering straight men from all over the country. Why didn’t I watch it? I can’t tell you. I remember the backlash and the homophobic comments, but it was most likely my early aversion to reality TV.

But the new series, which is set in and around Atlanta, is truly something special that deserves to be not just seen, but experienced in 2018.

There is a unexpectedly moving undercurrent of education etched into each makeover, which now include straight and gay men.

In the first episode, two of the guys have a jovial but informative conversation with their makeover subject of the week – Tom, a bearded, Lazy Boy-loving dump truck driver – about why the notion a gay relationship must have a man and woman personality is offensive. They don’t raise their voice nor are they overly cruel to him. They calmly tell him why that persistent belief undermines a 50-year movement for queer equality in the eyes of the law and culture.

So much of our nation’s conversation about the realities of queer life is shouted through political discourse and in the comment sections of social media to people who don’t care or aren’t willing to listen. Seeing it spoken about by gay men of every flavor to everyday people genuinely willing to learn the impact of their misconceptions is refreshing and feels far more impactful than screaming into the digital void. You come out the other side of these episodes feeling as though these people, who probably would have never crossed paths otherwise, are more enlightened for being put together.

The show doesn’t just champion more tolerance for queer people. It also takes opportunities to have real conversations about topics ingrained in 2018. Culture expert Karamo has a one-on-one discussion with Ruddy, a NASCAR-loving cop, about law enforcement from a black perspective after the episode opens with the guys being pulled over. There was concern in Karamo’s eyes as the cop approached the window, informed by the memory of numerous similar situations gone horribly wrong in recent years.

The two men discuss the pain on both ends, from Karamo's son's fear to get his license to Ruddy's disappointment in being lumped in with volatile and racist cops. It’s emotional, tolerant and thoughtful. It’s a black gay man telling a white straight cop his fears, actually being heard and then listening to the other side.

But even beyond its social consciousness, there is an inviting purity to the show, thanks to the winning chemistry among the guys who are never an ounce less than themselves and a slate of makeover participants actually excited to participate. Sure, they are getting a personal makeover and a home/life renovation out of the gig. But they are men from the more recognizable corners of America that seem interested in making the changes, which makes their makeovers rewarding as a viewer.

Even if you don’t think “Queer Eye” is for you, press play on the first episode and let it change your mind. Don't wait like I did. Reality TV is often over produced within an inch of its life, manufacturing drama and emotion with a well-placed cut here and a manipulated interaction there. But “Queer Eye” is a sleek and scrappy show with its heart in the right place.

It is a beautiful gem in a dark, dark world that highlights the best of people – a generosity of spirit and a willingness to understand one another. The world needs all of that it can get, but these eight episodes are a good start.

Reporter Hunter Ingram can be reached at 910-343-2327 or Hunter.Ingram@StarNewsOnline.com. Hunter is a member of Television Critics Association.

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